This entire post following Brian's comments originally appeared on Rick's Daily Tips Tech Blog

From Brian
I just read the above article from a tech tip person that Carol has been reading regularly. I want to thank him and introduce his daily site:  "Rick's Daily Tips Tech Blog"  

This contains the info I used to download and create installation media for Windows 11 Preview.
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My experience so far:
The first and second time I tried to install Windows 11 from the USB, it failed. So I created the installation media (USB Drive) again. That time the installation worked just fine. I wasn’t sure it would install on this particular PC, but it was the best PC I have, so it was my best chance. It’s an 8 core AMD Ryzen 5 pro with 24Gb of Ram, only a few years old.

Next, I wondered if Windows 11 would work if I cloned the drive and put the cloned drive in another, not as good PC. A 4 Core i5 3rd generation with 8Gb of ram. It works fine.

Now technically, Microsoft wants certain criteria met for Windows 11 hardware, but you know what Bad Santa says, so at least for now, Windows 11 will run on “lesser” machines. That said, this is a preview copy, and the final release may not be as forgiving.

I haven’t done much on it yet. The computer does seem to run very fast, which is nice. MS Edge is nice looking and is easy to use. The system functions that I use are different, but not difficult to find using the search, if needed. It looks much prettier than Windows 10. This is a step forward in design which MS has neglected over the years (decades). It’s certainly familiar enough to navigate easily, unlike the Windows 7 to 8 transition. I look forward to trying it out, but I’m not going to jump to it right away. Windows 10 is supported till 2025, so there’s certainly time. I’ll probably upgrade officially in a couple of months unless something drastic happens.


How to download the latest Windows 11 Preview ISO file
Are you itching to get your hands on Windows 11 and you just don't want to wait for October 5 to get here?

Well, if your PC is capable of running it, you can download the ISO file of the latest Windows Insider Dev Build of Windows 11 (AKA Windows 11 Preview Build) and use it to install Windows 11 on your machine today.

Important: The Preview version of Windows 11 is not the same exact version that will be released on October 5.
Microsoft is still squashing bugs and the official release version could (and probably will) vary a slight bit from this version.
After reading all the above, do you want to give Windows 11 a try before it's even officially released? If so, follow these steps to download the ISO file:
1 - If you haven't done so already, visit this page on the Microsoft website and sign up for the Windows Insider program.
2 - Once you're signed up and logged in, visit the Windows Insider Download Page.
3 - Scroll to the "Select edition" section at the bottom of the page and select the Windows 11 Insider Preview (Dev Channel) option.
4 - Click Confirm.
5 - Select your Language and click Confirm.

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I get emails from places I don’t want. I don’t know how they get my email address, and some are just random, but in any case, there are too many or I flat out do not want to hear from them. Recently I started getting emails from a company selling computer parts, mostly iPhone and iPad parts. Several a day.
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In Outlook, I just Right click on the email, hover on Junk, and select Block Sender. But then the emails started coming from different people at the same company, so I went into the Junk email options, and the Blocked Senders tab, and there, I could add a domain, which I did. Then, I was still getting them, it turns out they had changed their domain, so instead of elekworld.com it was elekworld.biz, or .ltd, or.co, or whatever. I added them all and it has been much better.

What if you don’t use Outlook? Whatever client you use will likely have a way to do the same thing, so I suggest Googling it. And what if you don’t use an email client at all?

Your ISP provides you with an email address, which you may or may not use. You may have an email from Gmail, Microsoft, or Apple, or any number of other places. Those places will also have a method of filtering and blocking email senders, but again, they are individual to your provider so you should Google that.

I’ve been installing CloudReady OS on older laptops for a couple of years now. Basically, that means I’m making old computers into useful Chromebook-like computers. If you’ve never used a Chromebook, you should consider giving it a try. A Chromebook is a great alternative to a full blown computer. Most folks use a computer for the browser. I spend most of my time on a browser, looking stuff up, buying from amazon, watching youtube videos on how to take apart and reassemble the laptop someone gave me.
 
Many people are getting away from their computers and just using their smart phone or iPad. A tablet is an astonishing computer that can generally do anything that most of us are doing on our computers. I mostly work on my PC and my phone. The only tablet sized device I use is my Kindle paperwhite, which I love. When I travel, I don’t bring a computer, as I can generally check on things with my phone.
 
CloudReady is now a Google product, as is Chromium and Chromebook. They are similar enough that I am going to treat them the same for this particular article. What I am going to talk about is CloudReady, mostly. The way I make a “ChromeBook” is I use a USB installer of CloudReady and start up the computer booting from the USB drive. After it starts, I sign in and use the option in the lower right corner to install it onto the computer. It wipes the drive and installs itself. It’s pretty easy. The nice thing is that it uses far less resources to operate that a PC or Mac, and so, it’s a great option for an older laptop.
 
Pretty much, you can do whatever you want, using available apps and cloud based software. I’ll include a bunch of links below. The first one is an wee explanation of CloudReady and Chrome HERE. 
And HERE. 
 
Get a copy to install HERE. 
 
The downside? It’s NOT a Chromebook. While many programs will run via the browser, there is a whole world that is off limits due to not actually being a Chromebook. Currently, you can’t download apps from the Google Playstore, and you can’t run Android apps. Still, there is a huge amount you can still do, and most likely, all that will keep you plenty busy.  

Carol got a letter from someone about pacemakers being effected by iPhones, and other Apple devices.  I was interested in that and started reading about it. I found a link on Apple’s website, and it is true, there can be some magnetic interference that could effect a pacemaker, though it’s not just Apple devices. Apple’s link on the subject is HERE. 

As I was reading about that, it occurred to me that all smart devices may have this issue, and so, I Googled that. It turns out that yes, other brands of smart phones and devices have the same issues. An article from the FDA is HERE.

You’ve probably seen microwave warnings at restaurants, and that is for the same reason. The thing is, there are a LOT of electronics that create magnetic fields, some of which can no doubt create an issue with a medical device. I imagine that if you have such a device, then you have been warned about these things. It certainly doesn’t seem like the warning is dire. Don’t place your cell phone in your pocket over the medical implant. It doesn’t say not to put it in the other breast pocket.
All in all, it was interesting reading but nothing to be worried about.

Supposedly, Windows 11 will be released October 5. Typically, the release isn’t made available as an update to everybody at once, and I certainly wouldn’t recommend that everyone jump on this bandwagon as soon as possible. It’s good to be aware of it though. I expect that a lot of PC’s won’t qualify for the upgrade, at first anyway. Windows 10 has another 4 years to go for support, so there isn’t a real hurry. I am curious about it, of course, so I will be looking to find a PC that is upgradable. I think I have one.

There is supposed to be a workaround for non-allowable PC’s. You can create an installation disk and install a fresh copy of Win 11. It may not work well on a non-compliant PC, but it might. Check out an article on this subject HERE. 
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I’m sure Windows 11 will tout new and better security, prettier screens, more robust this and that. The fact is, most of us don’t really like change. Change is a necessary part of life, and certainly inevitable. As soon as I get an install of Windows 11 on a PC, I’ll let you know what I think.